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Award-winning photographer Rafal Gerszak spent a year embedded with the American military in Afghanistan, where he used his camera to document everyday life in the war-torn country. While there, he developed a deep affection for the land and its people, and he later returned on his own. Despite the dangers around him, he continued taking photos, exposing the plight of that besieged country. Framed by journal entries that relate his experiences on two levels-as a foreigner looking for a deeper connection to a country that has stirred him, and as a journalist looking for another side to the story-BEYOND BULLETS addresses the volatile situation in Afghanistan with sensitivity and profound insight. Through Gerszak's lens, readers can see the shattered aftermath of military attacks and dismal hospitals and refugee camps, but they can also experience the vibrant activity of life in the markets, at home and on the Muslim day of rest. Featuring more than 40 of Gerszak's photographs and at once harrowing and heartrending, BEYOND BULLETS is as illuminating as it is riveting.

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Born in Poland in 1980, Rafal was forced to flee his home during the Soviet era, and lived for some time in a German refugee camp. After immigrating to Canada in 1990, he began to identify with socially displaced groups. His response was to document in photos the drug culture in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.

A graduate of the Photography Program at Langara College in Vancouver, Canada, Rafal specializes in editorial photography, both reportage and portraiture. His work has been seen in many magazines and newspapers worldwide, including Newsweek Poland, The Saturday Times Magazine (UK), The Dallas Morning News, and the Globe and Mail.

Rafal first went to Afghanistan in 2008 and now splits his time between there and Canada. His work as a photojournalist has focused on the social, military, and political effects of war. In his determination to portray the situation in Afghanistan as honestly as possible, Rafal spent time there embedded with the American troops. As well as witnessing firsthand battles with the Taliban, he has also been able to live among the Afghan people and experience how the war has affected them.

His documentary work and short films from Canada and Afghanistan have been recognized by the National Press Photographers Association and News Photographers Association of Canada.